1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to embossed card package production systems which produce card packages including embossed cards or the like mounted to pair card carrying matching forms, or carriers and, more particularly, to card inserters.
2. Description of the related art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97-1.99
Embossed card production systems such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,196 issued May 17, 1983 to McCumber et al. entitled xe2x80x9cApparatus and System for Preparing Data Cards and Mailer Forms and for Attaching Data Cards to Respectively Associated Mailer Formsxe2x80x9d and U.S. Pat. No. B1 4,034,210 reexamination certificate issued Feb. 7, 1984 to Hill et al. entitled xe2x80x9cCredit Card Carriers and Methods of Manufacturexe2x80x9d are known which automatically mount one or more embossed cards, such as plastic credit cards or the like, to corresponding card carrying mailing forms, or carriers, which, in turn, are xe2x80x9cstuffedxe2x80x9d into window mailing envelopes through which the name and address of the account holder printed on the carrier are viewable for mailing to the holder of the account associated with the cards enclosed in the carrier.
Each of the different types of known card package production systems and card inserters require a different kind of form and, thus, there are a plurality of different types of carrier forms produced for use with these card package production systems. In order for card issuers to automatically issue cards using different types of carriers, it has been required for the issuer to produce and operate a different type of system for each different type of form. The versatility and thus value of these known monoform card package production systems has therefore disadvantageously been severely restrained.
Another problem with known embossed card package production systems is that the carriers which are employed all require the folding of a section of the body of the carrier over an edge of the card to hold the card within a slot or corner pockets. Such wedge trapping of cards disadvantageously require a larger carrier to form the folding section. In addition, when the carrier is unopened, the card is no longer securely mounted to the carrier and is susceptible to inadvertent separation from the mailing carriers. Moreover, in known carrier forms with carrier pockets, the pockets are formed with diagonal cuts which require nonrotary oscillating members to open the card pockets to enable card insertion.
Another difficulty with known card production systems is the failure to obtain full verification of the correctness of the card embossment, the card magnetic stripe encoding and the information printed on the carrier. While in the card pack production system of Hill et al., U.S. Pat. No. B1 4,034,210 cited above, information from the embossed characters is compared with information automatically obtained from the carrier to determine there is a match, there is no independent verification of the correctness of the information. In the system of McCumber et al., on the other hand, no comparison is made between the card and carrier to determine if there is a match. Encoding on a magnetic stripe is compared against stored data for the card and an echo check determines whether an embossment has been made, there is no verification of whether the embossment is the correct embossment or whether it matches the encoding on the card; there is no verification of whether the information printed on the carrier is correct or whether it matches either the embossed or encoded information on the card. Instead, correctness of embossed and printed information is assumed correct and a correct match is assumed by maintaining strict synchronization between production of cards and corresponding characters.
Another serious problem with the card package production system of McCumber et al. is that because of the synchronization require to hopefully obtain a match, it is necessary to insert incorrectly prepared cards, known to be incorrect because of incorrect magnetic stripe encoded information, into corresponding carriers. Although this incorrect card package is supposed to be automatically mounted to a reject station away from the correctly prepared package, if they are not separated, an incorrect package is easily combined with the correctly prepared packages.
Also, the versatility of the known card package production systems is severely limited due to the fact that it is usable with only a single type of inserter section which can process only single type of carrier.
It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide a card package production system with full verification which overcomes the disadvantages of known systems.
The object of the present invention is achieved by providing an embossed card production system having means for accessing stored embossed card information and means for embossing a card with the stored embossed card information with an embossed card verification system, comprising means for reading the embossed information on the card, means for comparing the read embossed information on the card with the stored embossed information for the card to determine if there is a match and means responsive to the comparing means for automatically identifying each card for which the information embossed on the card does not match the stored embossed information for the card.
The object of the invention is also achieved by provision of a method of mounting cards to a plurality of different mailing forms, comprising the steps of (a) automatically mounting cards to a first type of mailing form with an automatic card mounting apparatus having an insertion station at which cards are mounted to forms, a card feeder for feeding cards to the insertion station and a forms feeder adapted to feed different types of mailing forms to the insertion station, (b) releasably mounting a first type of insertion apparatus at the insertion station to insert cards into a first type of carrier, (c) automatically mounting cards to the first type of carrier forms with the first type of insertion apparatus, (d) removing the first type of inserter from insertion station and mounting in its place a second type of insertion apparatus for inserting cards into a second type of carrier form and (e) automatically mounting cards to the second type of mailing forms by using the second type of insertion apparatus.
Still, the object of the invention is obtained by providing an embossed card package production system having means for producing cards from stored card information and means for inserting the cards into card carrying mailing forms with a verification system, comprising means for determining when a card has been incorrectly prepared and means for preventing an incorrectly prepared card from being inserted into a carrier.